Questions & Answers about آیا آن خودکار است؟
Why is آیا (âyâ) at the beginning of the sentence?
آیا (âyâ) is a question word used to turn a statement into a Yes or No question. You place it at the very beginning of the sentence. In everyday spoken Farsi, people often drop it and just use a rising tone of voice, but it is very common in written or formal Farsi.
Why is the verb است (ast) at the very end of the question? In English, we say 'Is that...'.
Unlike English, Farsi keeps its standard word order even in questions. The verb almost always goes at the very end of the sentence. So, the structure here literally reads as 'Question-particle that pen is?'.
Is the word آن (ân) pronounced exactly as it is written here?
In written or formal Farsi, yes. However, in casual spoken Farsi, آن (ân) is almost always pronounced as 'un'. So in everyday conversation, you will usually hear it pronounced that way.
I notice the word خودکار (khodkâr) is made of two parts. What does it literally mean?
خودکار (khodkâr) is a compound word. خود (khod) means 'self' and کار (kâr) means 'work'. So it literally translates to 'self-worker' or 'automatic' — which is a fun way to remember that it means 'ballpoint pen'.